by Joe Jeffrey
IAM and TRL study reveals safe driving and multi-tasking do not go hand-in-hand
Multi-tasking without the implication of putting yourself and other road users and pedestrians at risk whilst driving is a myth, according to new research by expert psychologists, with the most dangerous of multi-tasks being talking on a mobile phone.
According to research conducted by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), which concentrates on the dangers involved when drivers try and engage in more than one task, multi-tasking can have a ‘detrimental’ effect on the quality and accuracy of one’s driving performance. The findings come by way of a report launched last week, entitled ‘The Battle for Attention’.
The report reveals that texting using a mobile phone whilst driving engages three of the five key areas of distraction – cognitive, audible and exposure time – to a ‘high’ level and seems to solidify figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) collated in 2013, finding that 2,995 accidents on the road were attributed to ‘distraction’.
The report states: ‘Research has confirmed that tasks almost always interfere with other tasks carried out at the same time. The brain never actually focuses on two tasks at the same time – it switches back and forward between them.
“As driving is so complex and requires various cognitive processes, taking on another task when driving can mean a driver is unable to pay sufficient attention to all the activities required for safe driving. This can lead to a processing failure resulting in a loss of control, putting the driver and other road users in physical danger.’
Of the findings, IAM’s chief executive officer, Sarah SiIlars, “This is proof, should it be needed, that multi-tasking and driving simply don’t mix. Whilst there are plenty of distractions to tempt the driver, the individual needs to know that the phone, or internet, or the iPod simply don’t matter – driving is the only activity that should occupy your mind while at the wheel.
“It’s important that we work with the government, car makers and educators to deliver a renewed focus on driver training and road safety – and that people know that distractions can be fatal.”
News of these findings should come as no surprise, with previous research revealing motorists worry more about the dangers of distraction posed by technology and social media than drink driving when taking to the road, as previously reported on CaravanTimes.
